Raf Simons, the new designer for the house of Christian Dior, is shaking the foundations of French fashion and bringing the tradition of haute couture into the 21st century. His first two Dior runway collections shown earlier this year were at times reverent and at times revolutionary, featuring such daring designs as crushed, cut-off ball gowns worn over pants, and ball skirts paired with casual crewneck sweaters. Simons has already won over the fashion pack, and now Dior is the red-carpet get of the award show season.

PARIS -- Raf Simons showed his most dynamic and commercial Dior collection yet on Friday at Paris Fashion Week, turning the focus away from the fantasy world of the red carpet, which the brand has virtually dominated in recent years, and toward the real world. OK, so maybe that incredible pink Astrakhan coat doesn't necessarily qualify as work attire, but still, overall, there was a sense that wearability and comfort were chief concerns in this collection. City lights were the inspiration according to the show notes, but it was more about the pace of the city.

With film premieres and parties spanning 11 days, the Cannes Film Festival was the red carpet that just wouldn't end. When it came to the fashion stakes, no one could compete with Dior designer Raf Simons and his vision of modern 21st century couture. He dressed dozens of leading ladies in a range of spectacular looks that showcased his flair for bold strokes of neon color and womanly hourglass shapes contrasted with angular, asymmetrical hemlines. And he invited the glittery crowd up the coast to Monaco where he presented the Dior Cruise runway show under a white tent overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Among the best Dior looks: Marion Cotillard in a multi-colored silk bustier dress straight from the Dior Cruise runway at the premiere of "Blood Ties.

Jennifer Lawrence is like the foul-mouthed, self-deprecating class clown who has unwittingly found herself voted prom queen. No, the "American Hustle" Oscar nominee hasn't exactly had the easiest time in the fashion spotlight. When she gets it right, she gets it really right. But when she gets it wrong, well, hold on to the glassware. At last year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, an apparent wardrobe malfunction exposed her upper thighs as she climbed onstage. Then, there was the Oscar stairs stumble seen round the world.

A touch of sunshine or Big Bird? Julianne Moore, Claire Danes and “The New Girl's” Hannah Simone (in Emilio Pucci) all chose to wear vivid shades of yellow Sunday night. I'm not sure it does any of them any favors. Moore's long-sleeve, knitted cashmere top and ball skirt are from Raf Simons' first couture collection for Christian Dior. It's a high fashion, high profile choice to be sure, and one of the only truly modern looks of the evening. But the color and silhouette don't particularly flatter her. At least Danes' strapless, draped silk Lanvin gown seems cool and comfortable, which is probably a priority since she's pregnant, even if she does look a bit wilted.

Dior's new designer Raf Simons has dressed a constellation of stars in recent months, including two of the highest profile guests at tonight's awards. Both ladies wore red, Jennifer Lawrence in a strapless, 1950s-ish style dress with a molded bustier that sent the Twitterverse into overdrive chattering about her assets, and Marion Cotillard in a more demure red column with draped detail, which was whipped up by Simons especially for her. Any pizazz that Lawrence might have had was deflated as soon as she opened her mouth.

PARIS -- With dozens of runway shows planned over nine days, the fall-winter 2013 season of Paris Fashion Week kicked off Tuesday. And there is a lot of news to follow this season. The most hotly anticipated show is American designer Alexander Wang's debut at Balenciaga on Thursday. I'm also looking forward to L.A.-based Hedi Slimane's second ready-to-wear runway show for Saint Laurent, and Raf Simons' second outing at Dior. (Simons' Dior gowns dominated the awards show season, which ended with Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron wearing Dior at the Oscars on Sunday.)

IT'S ALMOST 2013 - which means it's time to take a look back at the sartorial standouts (Gwyneth Paltrow on the Oscars red carpet) and fashion faux pas (Paul Ryan on the campaign trail) of the previous 12 months. Though the world didn't end, as a flurry of Internet chatter had predicted, some in the fashion industry might have thought it had when Neiman Marcus teamed with Target on a holiday collection or when Nicolas Ghesquière announced he was leaving Balenciaga, the French fashion house he helped rebuild.

Considering that the snow continued in Paris on Monday, the Dior collection came as a welcome preview of spring-summer 2013. Like Dorothy going from gray Kansas to Technicolor Munchkinland, guests slogged through the Jardin des Tuileries, layered in slush, to find themselves inside a tree-filled pavilion alive with greenery. Under the circumstances, traveling to Paris may have delayed some, but for Danielle Steel, getting to the couture shows presented no problem. "I live in Paris," said the former San Francisco resident, arguably among the most popular authors alive today.

Reports -- including one we linked to on Monday -- that Christina Aguilera told Billboard that she was "tired of being a skinny white girl" seem to have been unfounded. A purported sneak peek on the Us Weekly website of an interview the singer did with Billboard contained the alleged quote, which Aguilera's reps and Billboard both say is fake. [E! News] Hedi Slimane debuted his first collection for Yves Saint Laurent on Monday night and it was one of the defining moments of Paris Fashion Week, Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore writes.

From bateau-style T-shirts, to Marc Jacobs' spring 2012 graphic Mod black-and-white runway extravaganza and beyond, stripes are the fashion trend that just won't end. They've been hot on the streets and at retail for going on four years now. But whereas most celebs would have shied away from wearing potentially unflattering lines on the red carpet, that's not the case now. Tuesday night at a screening of “American Hustle” in Los Angeles,...

PARIS -- Under an almost luridly beautiful hanging garden installed in a tent outside the Musee Rodin, designer Raf Simons presented the spring 2014 Dior runway collection Friday afternoon during Paris Fashion Week. The inspiration: Simons wanted to create "a tribe of flower women," according to the show notes, and alter "the nature of Dior's fashion through a celebration of artificial and real. " The look: Genetically modified Dior, spliced, diced and put into a blender.

With film premieres and parties spanning 11 days, the Cannes Film Festival was the red carpet that just wouldn't end. When it came to the fashion stakes, no one could compete with Dior designer Raf Simons and his vision of modern 21st century couture. He dressed dozens of leading ladies in a range of spectacular looks that showcased his flair for bold strokes of neon color and womanly hourglass shapes contrasted with angular, asymmetrical hemlines. And he invited the glittery crowd up the coast to Monaco where he presented the Dior Cruise runway show under a white tent overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Among the best Dior looks: Marion Cotillard in a multi-colored silk bustier dress straight from the Dior Cruise runway at the premiere of "Blood Ties.

Already modeled by dozens of celebs on the red carpet in the last few months, Raf Simons' much-ballyhooed Dior spring ready-to-wear collection has finally landed in stores, including Maxfield, where it has taken over the side gallery space for the next two weeks. A party was held Wednesday night to celebrate. And though the designer of the hour (year?) wasn't there, lots of L.A.'s social butterflies were, including hosts Quinn Ezralow, Julia Sorkin and Kelly Styne, as well as Liberty Ross, Crystal Lourd and Leandra Medine, all dressed in Dior, of course.

PARIS -- With dozens of runway shows planned over nine days, the fall-winter 2013 season of Paris Fashion Week kicked off Tuesday. And there is a lot of news to follow this season. The most hotly anticipated show is American designer Alexander Wang's debut at Balenciaga on Thursday. I'm also looking forward to L.A.-based Hedi Slimane's second ready-to-wear runway show for Saint Laurent, and Raf Simons' second outing at Dior. (Simons' Dior gowns dominated the awards show season, which ended with Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron wearing Dior at the Oscars on Sunday.)

PARIS -- Under an almost luridly beautiful hanging garden installed in a tent outside the Musee Rodin, designer Raf Simons presented the spring 2014 Dior runway collection Friday afternoon during Paris Fashion Week. The inspiration: Simons wanted to create "a tribe of flower women," according to the show notes, and alter "the nature of Dior's fashion through a celebration of artificial and real. " The look: Genetically modified Dior, spliced, diced and put into a blender.

John Galliano, fired as creative director at Christian Dior in 2011 after his racist bar rants came to light, on Monday won a round in court in his unlawful-dismissal lawsuit against Dior and his namesake John Galliano label. A French court ruled that it is qualified to hear the case. [WWD] (Subscription required.) For Galliano, there's a lot of money riding on this, according to court documents, which show he was paid a fixed annual salary of $1 million euros (about $1.3 million)

Cleavage, mermaid trains, spray tans and borrowed bling, oh my. The Oscars red carpet fashion show is getting underway in Hollywood. Who will wear what tonight? Well, it's not much of a guessing game. Anne Hathaway is expected to wear Valentino, a house with which she has a long association. (Valentino made her wedding dress last year.) And Jennifer Lawrence, who appears in the new Miss Dior advertising campaign, will no doubt wear something by Dior designer Raf Simons. Charlize Theron is another face of Dior (in other words, under contract with the fashion house)